We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful C.K. (Cindy) Donnelly. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with C.K. (Cindy) below.

Alright, C.K. (Cindy) thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

By its very nature, becoming a writer is a risk from virtually every angle. Is one ever up to sharing that much of herself? Can one even write an entire book? Will it be any good? Will anyone read it? Can one sell enough copies to make the endeavor profitable? The questions are endless.

Ever since I was a child, I loved creating stories. Actually *writing* them down came much later. I was blessed with a bit of native talent. I loved essay tests because I knew I could knock it out of the park.

Then came “Star Wars.” I was just 11. I was entranced. My life was forever changed. That movie really unlocked the creative floodgates in me.

Decades and hundreds of stories later, I realized if I truly wanted to become a fantasy author, I’d have to create my own stories and not just write “Star Wars” fan fiction. I took some elements that I liked about “Star Wars,” “Lord of the Rings,” and other fantasies, dissected them to find out what I really loved about them, and came up with my own plot hook. That hook would eventually become the groundwork for my series, “The Kinderra Saga.”

A plot hook and a fully-fledged book are two very different things. I spent months creating the land of Kinderra, the system of magic, the culture and its associated clashes, the language (yes, I have a 300-word “con lang”), and, of course the characters. I wrote 1st Person autobiographies, if you will, for my major characters, having them tell me about themselves in their own words.

After creating all of this, I wrote a long outline for what would become “Trine Rising, The Kinderra Saga: Book 1”. Then I did it 2 more times for the sequels: “Trine Fallacy: Book 2” and “Trine Revelation: Book 3”.

I spent almost an entire year trying to find representation by a literary agent, but was rejected each time. If my main character, 16-summer-old Mirana Pinal, was going to see the light of day, I had no choice but to publish the book independently.

Learning to self-publish a book is a whole story and risk in and of itself! I didn’t know a thing, but I did know I was tech savvy and was well-versed in desktop publishing. Rounds with editors, vetting cover illustrators, learning marketing, and much more took months. Aug. 26, 2020, was one of the happiest days of my life — that was the day I released “Trine Rising,” my first novel. “Trine Fallacy” was release August 2021, and “Trine Revelation” launched June 2022.

C.K. (Cindy), before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I was born and bred in Chicagoland. I was blessed with loving parents and an older sister. Our Christmases were magical, like something from a Charles Dickens novel. Mom’s favorite holiday, however, was Halloween. We went all out: custom-made costumes, treat bags filled with candy and little toys, spooky decorations, you name it. I loved my childhood. Both my parents are gone now, but one of the things I cherish is their continued support of my writing talent. They both got to see early drafts of “Trine Rising” at least. I wish they could have been there in person for the book launch in 2020, but I know they were looking down from Heaven.

I became serious about my writing as a professional endeavor after the “Phantom Menace” came out. To put it politely, I was not a fan. (I liked the newer sequels even less, but that’s another story.) I decided to “re-write” the original “Star Wars” movies just for myself but making Luke Skywalker a teen-aged girl instead. Sons and fathers often have an antagonistic element to their relationship, but daughters? I WAS Daddy’s little girl. Now imagine that trope when “Daddy” is Darth Vader! C’mon! THAT is a story. Playing with those retellings was so much fun, but it taught me some great writing lessons. Things like point-of-view, dialogue, building tension.

Next came a fan-fiction novel, “Jedi Healer.” Basically the story follows a former Rebel surgeon and how she discovers and learns to control her Jedi powers with Luke’s help. The book — and I use the term loosely — was hideous. But again, I learned more about writing and storycraft.

Now it was time for the real thing. In 2000, I began on the journey of creating the land of Kinderra, Mirana Pinal and her family, the Powers of the Aspects, and my novels.

What I love about “The Kinderra Saga” is the breadth and depth of the stories. Magic takes a backseat to the human story. I’ve taken all the usual high-fantasy tropes and spun them 180 degrees. Mirana knows she’s the “Chosen One” but has visions that, if she wields her powers, she’ll wreak unspeakable destruction. The antagonist, the Dark Trine, detests war and killing, and wants peace as much as our heroes do. Kaarl, Mirana’s father is a loving family man juxtaposed with his calling as a warrior. Mirana’s mother Desde, who has a governor-like role in Kinderra, has to send the province’s youth to the war effort…but that includes her daughter. Teague, Mirana’s beloved, has no magical powers, but he doesn’t realize his intelligence, common sense, and insight is brighter than most around him. Still, he wonders if someone like him could ever truly matter to one as gifted as Mirana. The examples go on. I wrote my stories in the hopes that even those who’ve never read or don’t think they like fantasy will be drawn into my books.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I alluded to the fact that I tried to find a literary agent but couldn’t. That experience wasn’t just frustrating, it was soul-shattering. I descended into a very, very dark and dangerous place, one where I am still healing and recovering from. It took everything I had — more than I had, actually — to let that part of my dream go and recalibrate toward self-publishing my books. There’s a steep learning curve there, and I am still learning. All this pain, passion, and promise center on one thing: I believe in my stories. Critics do, too. I have some 18 literary awards to date. In fact, this part of my journey has taken a life of its own, something that I call the Unsuccessful Quitter(tm). I’ve spun off social channels on Instagram and Facebook, with posts and reels encouraging others to be tenacious with their passion, that it’s OK to fail but never quit (hence unsuccessfully quitting).

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Social media is a race where the Powers That Be constantly move the goal post. Engagement is something with which I continue to struggle. I want so badly to have conversations with my followers, to talk about my stories, to uplift them in their passions, but my channels just seem to grow one follower at a time.

I wish I had great advice for beginners. I don’t, other than to keep at it. Find a channel that works for you and try to be consistent with your posts. Even just once a week is better than showing up on a haphazard schedule. That much I do know. If anyone has any advice for me, I’m listening!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ckdonnelly.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ckdonnellytrine (also @UnsuccessfulQuitter_tm and @KibbeCreative
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ckdonnellytrine
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ckibbe
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/ckdonnellytrine
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@unsuccessfulquitter

Image Credits
Headshot with bright pink shirt: Mike Harvey/Peak Image